America’s National Parks

America’s National Park system has sixty parks including one each in America Samoa, the Dry Tortugas, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The book opens with a short introduction and some safety information. Each park is unique and fascinating with plenty to see and do. Parks are represented with four pages of gorgeous photographs and fun facts such as the area of the park, highest or lowest elevation, years since the last eruption, high and low temperatures, how many mountain goats reside there, miles of hiking trails, number of plant species, and other facts, depending on the park. A short write-up describes the park covering some history or how the park came to be or some of the unique features of that particular park. There are also boxes in each section with “Things to See” and “Things to Do.” All of the writing is lively, fun, and very accessible for middle-grade readers. Cheerful colors and fun graphics complete the design of each four-page section. The back-matter is made up of a short glossary, a very detailed index, and image credits finish things off. This will be a terrific addition to school and personal libraries.